untitled suggestions welcome
by PJC
Summary: Ally/Larry fic. Set after tv series, Ally and Maddie are in New York and Larry reappears in her life. Bad at summaries, first AM fic, please r
1. Chapter 1

_First attempt at an Ally McBeal fic so might be wildly off, sorry if it is, anyway, seen it all and was rewatching it after years and watched the episode where Ally and Larry have there first date and reminded me of how amazing they were and how much I loved that 'ship and got inspired to write this, haven't watched it all through again yet and haven't seen it for a while, apologies for any innacurcies, but anyway, will start the story now. Set after the tv show ended, a while after, after her and Maddie are set up in new york. Also can't really remember much about Maddie._

* * *

Why did men have to be the same the world over? New York was meant to be different to everywhere else, it was meant to be a city that didn't sleep, but the men were still all creeps. Sure there were probably some nice men about, but she hadn't met any of them. True she had only dated six men since she had arrived there and only had one second date and no third dates, but six out of six bad guys wasn't a good running total. She corrected herself, three of them had been nice enough, they just didn't excite her, there was no spark, no connection and the other 3 were freaks, including tonight's date.

She sighed with relief as she made it home, barely able to wait to get in, order some food and phone Renee to tell her about her latest endeavour.

She glanced at the clock as she walked in and tried to stay quiet. Maddie would be in bed by now and she didn't want to wake her, she had a test tomorrow. She dropped her purse and went into the living room of her apartment.

"You are supposed to be in bed" she said, attempting to be stern as she saw her daughter sat there, curled up in a chair, light from the laptop shining on her face.

"Oh, hey Ally" she glanced up quickly, looking slightly guilty at been caught still up, "how was your date?" she added, trying to take the heat off herself.

Ally simply looked at her and groaned, "Let's put it this way, I won't be seeing him again. What are you still doing up?"

"Revising" Maddie answered, far too quickly.

Ally smiled gently at her daughter, "Say goodbye to whoever you're talking to or close whatever you were doing and go to bed." Ally watched as Maddie hit a few buttons, typed a few words and closed the lid of the laptop. "Don't forget to set your alarm" she called up the stairs as Maddie trudged towards her bedroom.

She heard some grumbled reply and waited for the sound of a door closing before heading back into the living room and picking up the phone. She dialled th number of her favourite take-out and ordered her usual without having to even look up the number. It was her ritual after a bad date, order from the same chinese, and then get some ice-cream out of the freezer to defrost and call renee while she waited for it to arrive.

She pressed speed-dial number 1 on her phone and waited for it to be picked up.

"Hello?" she heard a voice ask and relaxed, curling up on the sofa, ready for a long rant to her best friend.

"Hey, how are you?"

"I'm fine, from the fact you're calling already I take it your date didn't go well." Ally smiled at Renee's lack of small talk, she wanted the gossip and she wanted it now.

"It was a very definite bad date. Not even a question mark. He took me to dinner and said that they used a pine scented cleaner rather than lemon on the floors and refused to eat there and so took me to a bar. Fell asleep twice on the bar."

"Hold on Ally! You can't hold it against him that he fell asleep, he's a narcoleptic, you knew this, it's why you were representing him, he'd been fired for sleeping on the job. And the lemon thing is no weirder than some of your quirks."

"Wait, I'm not finished. So we were at this bar and they didn't do food, so I'm now starving, but we got on ok, wasn't an instant click but we had things in common and no major differences as far as I could tell, so we talked for a while and I said I had to get home as it was getting late and so he came outside with me, and he leaned in for the goodnight kiss, and he fell asleep!"

"He fell asleep, as he was about to kiss you?"

"No, he fell asleep as he was kissing me!" Ally held the phone away from her ear for a second as Renee laughed down the phone at her.

"That's got to be a new record, even for you. You put a guy to sleep just by kissing him." Renee replied as she continued to laugh.

"Ok, you can stop laughing now it's not that funny."

"I told you all the guys in New York were freaks."

"You also said that about all the guys in Boston and there were a few decent ones."

"Like who?"

"Like ... like ..." she was struggling to think of any, but refused to give up, "like Brian, he was decent."

"He was dull"

"But he was a stand-up decent guy. Anyway there are some, it's just th only ones I can think of are ones I've dumped and that's just a depressing thought. I went out with some good guys, I just seem to be a freak magnet in between those times. I just want a guy who understands me, who I can talk to, who I'm happy with."

"Don't we all, you do know you've just described a dream, that man doesn't exist."

"He does exist, and I let him get away. And he wouldn't run a mile when he finds out about Maddie."

"Ally" Renee sighed, "we've gone over this. You did your mourning over Larry, I don't see why you suddenly went back to dreaming about him when you got to New York."

"Because I finally truly understood why he said he had to move away to be nearer his son, it was a good reason, and I realised he didn't move away to be nearer his ex-girlfriend. I mean I moved across the country to make things better for Maddie, his situation was no easier than mine."

"Ally, stop dreaming over Larry again, you still live in different states and nothing is going to change that, you can't move 'cos Maddie needs to be in New York and he can't move 'cos he wants to be near his son. Besides he doesn't know where you live anymore and you don't know where he lives either. You probably couldn't find him anyway. Get yourself focused and stop living in the past. You know it's what's best for you."

"You're right" Ally admitted resignedly. She hated when Renee was right about things like this.

"I can still dream of somebody similar to him in this state though."

She looked up as the buzzer rang and walked across the room, she pushed down the button, "Come on up," she said and buzzed them into the building. "Chinese is here" she told Renee as she cradled the phone between her ear and her shoulder and grabbed her purse.

She pulled open the door, fumbling for some money, still trying to hold the phone, "What do I owe you?" she said, still looking in her purse.

"You don't owe me anything" a voice said and she looked up, forgetting about the purse and the phone and dropping them both.

Ally blinked and stared at the man in the doorway. She barely registered Renee's voice calling out to her from the forgotten phone to see if everything was ok. She was too shocked.

She couldn't even find her voice.

Both of them stood there simply staring at each other until Renee's shouting broke through the silence descended upon them.

Ally slowly looked down as though in a dream and saw the phone at her feet.

She picked it up and put it to her ear, as though she could only vaguely remember how to use it. "Hello?" she said softly into it.

"Ally, what the hell just happened? Is everything ok?"

Renee's voice broke through the haze that had been Ally's mind and seemed to prompt her into action.

"Renee, hold on" she glanced up again and blinked again before suddenly shutting the door in the mans face. "Renee, he's here, what do I do?" she said urgently.

"Ally, what are you on about, who's there?"

"_He's _here."

"Who!?"

"Larry"


	2. Chapter 2

"Are you sure?" her voice said down the phone.

"What do you mean, am I sure, Renee, of course I'm sure"

"OK, just think carefully, just check it was real."

Ally nodded, not quite realising she couldn't Renee this, and padded gently over to the door and looked out the peep-hole.

"It was real, I still see him, he's still here."

"Well, have you said anything so far, what have you already done?"

Ally looked at the door in front of her, "I shut the door" she answered slowly.

"With him inside or outside?"

"Outside" she answered even more slowly.

"Well then, unless you want him to runaway and never see him again and spend months pining after him I'd suggest opening the door, letting him in and then taking me through to the kitchen. Just don't say or do anything stupid, or anything other than I've said ok?"

"Ok" Ally said, still speaking slowly.

She pulled the door open and saw him still standing there, now looking a little confused."

"Hi Larry, would you like to come in?"

Larry stepped in, "Look Ally" he started but she cut him on with unformed words and a wave of her hand.

"Renee says I'm not allowed to talk to you"

"You're talking to me now. But you weren't talking to me, you were listening to me."

"I don't think she'd approve of me listening to you right now either" she said, still speaking slowly and carefully, shutting the door behind him. "I'm going to go into the kitchen now." she said, still serenely calm in he voice and actions.

She walked into the kitchen and immediately went into panic mode.

* * *

"Renee, it was real, he's here sat on my sofa, in my apartment, trying to talk to me and explain things to me, and being frustratingly calm and normal about it all so far" she said the second she was out of earshot, talking fast now and with feeling again.

"Ally, I want you to listen to me. Don't do anything stupid. But, I can't believe I'm saying this, listen to what your heart is telling you. I've never seen you as happy as you were when you were with him and I don't want you to miss out on a chance to be that happy again. So listen to him but please don't over analyse everything he says. There's not much more I can tell you from over here.

Just go back into your living room and talk to him, and call me the second you can."

Ally nodded again and hung up, took a deep breath and walked out of the kitchen.


	3. Chapter 3

"Who's the kid?" Larry asked her as she came out, she saw him standing at the cabinets looking at the pictures she had there. Ally came over and stood next to him, smiling fondly down at the picture.

"That's Maddie" she answered.

"Huh, descriptive answer." Larry replied.

"She's my daughter" she added."

Larry looked up at her and stared, "I know I haven't seen you for a while but I didn't think I'd been away long enough for you to have a daughter that old, and I don't remember you having one when I was with you." He remained silent for a second, it seemed to be sinking in for him that things might have changed, that she might have changed during his absence.

"And do you two get on well? Does she get on well with your husband or boyfriend?"

"We're still getting to know each other, it's a long and slightly strange story, and there is no husband or boyfriend for her to get on well with."

She glanced up and thought she saw a glimmer of hope touch Larry's face for a brief second and her heart leapt maybe after all this they could still, against all odds, actually have a shot together.

She watched his face for a fraction too long and he looked up at her from the photo and there eyes met, there was definitely still a spark between them as well. Neither wanted to break the contact and Ally desperately wanted to lean forward and truly remember what it was like to kiss him, and judging from the look in his eyes he was entertaining the same thought. Neither were quite brave enough to move though, so much had happened and Ally didn't want to rush before she was sure she could let him back into her heart, and though she didn't know it he was thinking along the same lines.

The buzzer rang again and saved them both from having to make the choice.

"Saved by the bell" Larry murmured turning away.

Ally looked down trying to fit off a blush, "It'll be the chinese" she murmured, pushing the button to let him up and scrabbling on the floor for the coins and purse she had dropped and had been left discarded at the door. She fought down an irrational panic for a second as she opened the door hoping that this time it would be the chinese and hoping that it wouldn't be anymore exboyfriends appearing at her door to confuse her, one was enough to cope with right now.

She took the chinese through to the kitchen and paused to take a deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

"Do you want some food?" she called through after a moment.

"Yeah, sure, why not" she heard him call back.

She dished it out onto two plates, took another deep breath and went back out to face him again.

They ate in silence for a while.

"So how's Sam?" she finally broke the silence.

"He's fine. How's Renee?"

"She's fine" Ally responded nodding before they both lapsed into silence until the plates were empty.

Suddenly Larry turned to Ally and reached out to take her hands but she pulled them away before he could.

He remained silent for a second and then leaned forward, looking at her seriously.

"Ally, we need to talk-"

"Talk? We just were talking, we're talking now, see talk, talk, talk-"

"Ally, you know what I mean" he said, remaining serious.

"No, we don't need to talk, not tonight, I've had enough bombshells hitting me for one night. I need to go get you a blanket and then I need to go to bed."

He nodded, "You know, if it's too strange I can go check into a hotel."

"No, no, it's fine, you can have the sofa."

He nodded again as Ally went to the cupboard and passed him a couple of blankets.

Ally said night and headed towards her bedroom, suddenly turning around half-way there.

"Can you still hear music in your head?" she asked, quoting something he had long ago said to her.

He simply looked at her confused as she walked over to him and held out a hand.

"Dance with me?" she asked, and there was no way he could have refused.

She didn't know why she had asked him to dance, she was just following her heart, and her heart said dance and be near him.

He took her hand and pulled her slowly closer until they were swaying in time to the beats in their heads, and for the first time since arriving in New York, Ally felt like she was at home.

As they danced she heard him singing quietly, he didn't even seem to be aware he was singing aloud, but the beauty of it made her hold him closer and hug him as they danced.

"Chances are I'll see you

Somewhere in my dreams tonight

You'll be smiling like the night we met

Chances are I'll hold you and I'll offer all I have

You're the only one I can't forget"

And as his voice died away gently in the air Ally felt tears beginning to trickle slowly down her cheeks and pushed herself away from him, "I have to go to bed now, I have a case in the morning. Night" she said keeping her face down and hidden from him.

"Good night ... Ally" he called softly after her and tried to fight back his own tears.


	4. Chapter 4

_Was skim reading chapter 3 as I posted it and just had an urge to add this in, so sorry for the slight disjointedness I just wanted an 'aww bless him I want one' moment, didn't come out quite as I was aiming but nm._

_Please review and let me know you're still reading.  
_

* * *

As he slowly made his way back to the sofa, still fighting tears he paused to look at the photos she had about, there weren't many, she never had been one for keeping many pictures on display.

He smiled down on them as he saw her smiling with her friends and with Maddie.

He was still in shock that she had a daughter, now he knew kind of how she had felt when he had first mentioned Sam to her, although probably more confused that she was then, how had she suddenly gained an 11 year old daughter. He carried on looking at the pictures, smiling as she saw one of her and Renee together, and one of everybody at the firm before she had gone.

He peered closely at it, noticing something in the background, '_Cage, Fish & McBeal'_. Clearly a lot had happened in his absence, why had she come to New York then and left Boston if she had made partner. It was probably to do with Maddie.

He put it down and looked at the last frame, a single picture of her, looking just as he remembered her with a hint of a smile on her lips.

His heart swelled and ached as he looked at it.

He had forgotten how much he truly loved her while he had been gone. He'd forgotten it was possible to love someone that much, to love another person that much that even looking at a photo of them made you feel this much happiness and pain. He loved Sam greatly and he knew that nothing could ever touch that or replaced it, but it was a simple love, he loved Sam because he was his son, he loved him unconditionally but right now it was still a nice easy simple love, no pain involved other that the guilt of not seeing him often enough which had slowly reduced during the time he had spent with him. Whereas his love for Ally was more complex, it involved pain and confusion but it had as much depth as his love for his son, and it was more love than he had ever felt for a woman, he didn't care how complicated it was, he knew he was still head-over-heels in love with her.

He also knew he had to go back soon, he had only got 2 weeks off work and it had taken him nearly a week to track her down, and he was already missing Sam, he'd called him every night before he went to bed and a few mornings before he had left for school, but it didn't make up for being with him, and he suddenly knew that he would be faced with the same choice as before, he could either see Sam or Ally, but not both at the same time, and he couldn't cross the country ever few days but he couldn't bear to be separated from either of them.

He hadn't realised until that moment how hard it would be to give Ally up again now that he had seen her. He didn't even know what had driven him to search her out in the first place but he knew with certainty that he couldn't walk away again.

As he sat on the sofa and started getting under the blankets his thoughts returned to her and it took all his will not to walk into her room and tell her he loved her, to open the windows and scream it to the world that they had found each other again, to make love to her like they used to, to speak to her and share his thoughts or to simply lie there with her in his arms, feeling like everything would be right with the world if they could just stay that way forever.


	5. Chapter 5

_OK, my love of Larry may have totally reappeared and was probably rather obvious but can't really remember much about Maddie so she will be quite off character, all based on hazy memories as not up to there in the rewatch yet._

* * *

Ally suddenly awoke with a start, sitting up, breathing hard, wide awake.

She placed a hand on her chest as she tried to calm down and could feel her heart pounding.

"It was only a dream" she muttered, saying it again and again to herself until she relaxed and her breathing returned to normal.

She lay back down, intending to turn over for another 10 minutes in bed and groaned as she heard the alarm go off.

She turned it off and lay there still for another few minutes, not quite ready to move yet.

She only moved when she heard someone enter the room, she looked up and saw Maddie walk in, still in her pyjamas but with a piece of toast in her hand, happily eating it.

"Hey" she said sitting on the end of the bed, "you okay?" she asked as she saw Allys face.

"Yeah I'm fine, just thinking, I had a weird dream last night."

Maddie nodded as she chewed her toast, "So did I?"

Ally looked at her questioningly, suddenly scared it had all been really and Larry really was here and that Maddie had heard and thought it was a dream.

"What was it?" she asked after a moment, trying to sound casual and hoping she managed it.

"I was a piece of fruit" Ally relaxed, normal weird dreams she could cope with. "I think I was an orange" Maddie added after a moments thought.

"I was in a fruit bowl and there was someone choosing a piece of fruit to have for breakfast and they couldn't decide what they wanted and I was scared they were going to eat me, but then as they reached towards me they decided they wanted a banana and everything was ok again. And then I woke up." She finished, looking confused.

"Well, I think we can safely say that was a dream and not real" Ally replied laughing.

Maddie glared at her for laughing and threw a cushion at her, making Ally only laugh more.

"It's not that funny" Maddie protested. Ally tried to calm herself down and looked at her daughter still smiling.

"Sorry, I'm serious now. So are you all packed for school? Revised for the test?"

Maddie nodded, "Yep, just got to get dressed and I'm ready to go." She made to get up off the bed but sat down again, "Oh, Ally, why is there a random man asleep on the sofa?"


	6. Chapter 6

_Just want to say Thanks to Emlen for reminding me of this fic, need to carry it on, really enjoying writing it (even if I should be revising)_

* * *

Ally stared at her daughter for a second, mouth opening and closing soundlessly.

"You knew he was there right?" Maddie asked after a moment, taking another bite on her toast attempting to appear casual, a hint of apprehension in her voice then.

Part of Allys brain made her head nod to reassure Maddy, the rest of her brain was in overload. She jumped out of the bed and ran out of her bedroom and arrived at the bottom of the stairs breathless and panting.

"I've put the kettle on, I hope you don't mind"

Ally carried on breathing heavily for a second as Larry calmly carried on folding his blanket and laying it on the sofa arm.

"Would you like a cup?"

"Cup?" Ally queried looking up at him again as he stood by the kitchen door.

"Of coffee" Larry supplied slowly.

"I'm just gonna go get dressed" Maddie supplied and slipped upstairs sensing the awkwardness.

"Yeah, sure, coffee good, coffee good, coffee good" she carried on muttering as she walked slowly back up the stairs her voice getting quieter as she rubbed a hand along her head. She walked back into her room, shut the door, walked to the nearest wall and slowly started banging her head against it.

"not happening. not happening. not happening. not happening." she carried on murmuring, banging her head on every word.

She looked up as she heard a tentative knock on the door and heard it start to slowly open.

Larry appeared at the door holding the promised cup. He handed it to her silently and just stared at her for a while.

Eventually Ally looked up and took the mug off him and stared back at him, both lost in each others eyes and faces.

"Ally, look-"

"No. Shush. No talky." she said reaching out and placing a finger on his lips to shush him. She stared at her finger a second later and pulled it away as though it was burning.

"Ok. We'll talk later?"

"Yes, later good, later very good."

"I'll leave you alone to get dressed now"

"Yes, court, got to be dressed, in a suit."

Ally nodded and headed towards the door, just before he left he turned "Cute pjs by the way" he said giving her an approving look up and down before pulling the door shut and silently cursing at himself as he turned and went back down stairs.

Ally looked down at herself and realised she was only wearing an over-sized t-shirt with teddies on, a rather _short_ oversized t-shirt.

She smirked for a moment "He always did like my legs" she muttered quietly before going to her wardrobe and forcing all thoughts away from Larry.


	7. Chapter 7

_Ok, got writing big time last night (why is it so much easier to write when you've got more important jobs to do) and written to at least chapter 10  
will try to post to every few days if not more often to try and keep a steady stream going._

_

* * *

_

She pulled herself together and dressed, downing the coffee before she went back downstairs.

"Maddie you nearly ready?" she called up the stairs as she got her bags together.

"Yeah, I'm here" Maddie replied as she walked out of the kitchen, yet another piece of toast in her hand, Ally looked at her, that girl could eat toast like no-ones business.

"Sorted, we're walking out the door in one minute, right after I find my keys."

She saw a movement out of the corner of her eye and suddenly her keys were dangling next to her face. She looked up and saw Larry dangling them on the end of his finger.

She pulled them off his finger without a word. "Right Maddie we're going" she called out, Maddie dashed out from the kitchen, a new slice of toast in her hand. Ally shook her head.

"You're going to look like a piece of toast one day"

"Not before you look like a coffee" she shot back with a grin.

Ally headed towards the door. " Aren't you going to introduce us?" Maddie asked, nodding her head towards Larry.

"No" Ally said sticking her tongue out at Maddie.

Maddie stuck hers out back and strode over to Larry.

"Hi, I'm Maddie, Ally's daughter" she said, holding out her hand.

Larry took her hand and started shaking it, "Hi, I'm -"

Ally screamed out unformed words, "No time, you can meet him properly later. He'll be about tonight."

"I will?" he asked suddenly, slightly shocked, she just shot him a look and he shut up, putting his hands up in defeat.

She then herded Maddie out the door and walked the few blocks to her school quickly.

"Good luck in your test" she said and hugged Maddie briefly before Maddie pushed her away and waved goodbye as she headed into school.

Ally watched her go for a moment before carrying on aiming for the nearest subway station, pulling out her cell as she went, dialing her house phone.

"Hello?" she heard a voice at the other end say.

"Hey, it's me. There's a spare key on the bottom shelf of the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, the keys for that are hung on the wall next to it. Lock up if you leave the house. If you don't there's food in the fridge, help yourself to any food in the kitchen basically"

"Even the ice-cream?" he interjected.

"Except the ice-cream" she replied sternly, she had a feeling she might need it later, it was her constant companion in times of stress. "Do you know where the court house is?"

"No, I don't know where anything is."

"Ok, I'll head back there at lunchtime then and I will see you then to sort out the logistics of this situation. I'm going to have to go, I'm heading into the subway." She hung up as she dashed down the steps, breathing with a sigh of relief as she got on the train, relaxing as she heard the familiar sound of the train around her and trying to calm herself down before she went into work.

* * *

As she walked into work she was greet by her secretary at the lift handing her messages and updating her on confirmed court dates. Sarah was nice enough and she'd been thankful she didn't attempt to chip to her life on many occasions, but today she truly missed Elaine, Elaine would have known something was wrong in a second and annoyed Ally until she told her, but it would still have been a comfort, something to ease the way if she got distracted during a meeting when Elaine would smoothly step in, Sarah didn't notice anything was wrong.

Ally closed the door to her office and relaxed again, suddenly realising how tense she was. She had only just navigated the office and kept up with what Sarah was telling her, she could only guess how she was going to cope in court.

Her door suddenly burst open, "I want to take that witch for every penny shes got" demanded a man as he walked in. She had just the same characters as clients in New York as she had in Boston.

She settled into work, glad to have something normal to think about.


	8. Chapter 8

_Updating two chapters now and then probably no updates till middle of next week, but couldn't leave it on this chapter._

_

* * *

_

Court came, she argued, she persuaded the client they were doing well, court was adjourned and suddenly it as lunchtime.

Allys calmness ended as she walked out of the courthouse and headed towards to subway again. She was suddenly panicking, why ahd she agreed to meet him so early , she could easily have waited till dinner, sorted things out then, why did she have to suggest sorting things out at lunchtime, even if it was just giving him directions and sorting out sleeping arrangements and keys, she knew he wanted to talk, and she had no idea what to say. She stepped off the subway train and headed up towards her exit.

She pulled out her cell as she did,

"Hiya Maddy."

"Hey Ally, what's up?"

"Nothing, just wondering how the test went?"

"Complete blow-out I could only answer half the questions but even the smart kids could only answer a few more so we'll see. Now, what's really up? You don't call me at lunchtime to see how a test went, text me maybe, but you never call during school hours."

"You know that guy you saw this morning, well he's an old friend and I was gonna take him out to dinner and show him around New York tonight and catch up, so you mind seeing if you can go to Hannahs for tea?"

"Hannah, can I come around yours after school tonight?" Ally heard Maddie bellow, before Maddie answered her a moment later. "Yeah thats fine."

"Great, I'll come get you around 8, be polite to her mum and say thank you before you leave"

"I will, I'll see you later" Maddie finished quickly before hanging up.

Ally felt slightly guilty but she couldn't deal with Larry while Maddie was about, it would just be too hard, she needed to work out how she felt before she really introduced him to Maddie, besides, she would sense something was up if she was at home.

As she carried on walking her cell rang, "Hey Ally, Hannah's just spoken to her mum and she says I can stay over, can I stay over please?"

"Are you sure it's ok?"

"Yes it's fine, Hannah's house number is on the fridge and so is her mums cell, you can call her and check, but please please please can I stay over, I can borrow pyjamas and I've got some spare clothes in school in case I ever go out after school."

"Yes, fine you can go, it's not a school day tomorrow, but if Hannah's mum isn't happy with it then you're not allowed to force her into it and I'll get you straight from school if she doesn't know about it."

"Ok" Maddie replied in a cheerful voice.

"Ok, have fun tonight, love you"

"Love you too" Maddie replied quickly before hanging up, probably to celebrate with Hannah.

Ally called Hannah's mum as she continued walking to check they had really checked and everything seemed fine. It was one less thing to worry about and Maddie would have fun and she didn't have to be in school tomorrow.

She finally reached home and took a deep breath as she stepped in.


	9. Chapter 9

_Do you know what I've noticed? The Larry speakings suddenly seem so much more Larry if you think them in his voice, because I was convinced I was off character and then put them into his voice and they worked better than I thought. Just thought you'd like to know that._

_

* * *

_

_She finally reached home and took a deep breath as she stepped in._

* * *

She smiled as she saw Larry heading towards her with a plate which he handed to her as he took her case and bags off her.

Ally looked down at the sandwiches on the plate and felt her nerves making her no longer hungry.

She smiled and attempted to hand the plate back, "I've already eaten, but thanks, you have it."

"No you haven't" he said without even turning around as he put her bags down and walked towards the sofa.

"How do you know?"

"You never eat lunch straight after a court date for fear the client will suddenly remember to ask you something and you're stuffing your face, or for fear that opposing council will talk to you to try and undermine you and you'll have seeds in your teeth and won't be able to think of anything else when you face them in court next time." Ally simply stared at him as she put the plate down on the table. He finally stood up and looked at her, "Besides, I can still tell when you're lying" he finished with a slight smile.

She couldn't decide whether she wanted to glare at him or grin at him. She settled for a question

"How did you remember all that?"

He started walking closer to her, "Ally" he said seriously, "I don't think I've forgotten a single memory that has you in it."

Before she could stop herself she had reached out, grabbed his shirt and pulled him closer to her and was kissing him.

She felt him tense for a second before relaxing and deepening the kiss. Her hand released his shirt slowly and slipped around to the back of his neck where it rested as her other hand went to join it going up into his hair and back down to his neck

Slowly, he lifted his hands up and gently cupped her face with them before slowly running them back through her hair, running her fingertips down her spine before resting them on her lower back, both shifting slowly closer together never breaking the kiss. Eventually Ally pulled away breathless but didn't make any greater distance between them, she kept one hand at the top of his back and the other still rested in his hair. Larry's hands still rested on her lower back, gently holding her close.

She leaned her head forward until their forwards were touching, both trying to get their breathing back to normal.

"That wasn't my plan for this lunchtime I promise" Ally said as her breath evened out.

"No complaints from me" he replied.

"I think that means we've got past the stage where we could just be friends"

"Definitely seems like it" Larry murmured as he moved his head and started to nuzzle her face back up.

"We really should step away from each other now"

"We don't have to"

"No, but we should"

"Do you want to?"

"No"

"Me neither. I guess we're at a stalemate."

"I need to get back to work soon"

"You haven't had your full lunch break yet"

"I've got papers to file"

"Not urgently"

"I .. I'm out of reasons to move"

"Thank god" Larry said before stopping her talking by reclaiming her mouth with his own.


	10. Chapter 10

_Before you say anything, no nothing happened (it is only mid-afternoon though)._

* * *

"Ok, this time I really have to get that" Ally said, attempting to be firm.

"Ok" Larry replied as he continued to hold onto her.

They hadn't moved, they'd stayed standing in the same place alternating between kissing, gazing at each other and merely holding each other. Allys hands had stayed settled around his neck and Larry's hands had stayed at the bottom of her back and it had been perfect.

They hadn't wanted to move, both felt at peace, Ally felt like she was home, and Larry felt like the piece of himself he was missing was back in place, and both were refusing to think past that second.

The moment they moved it meant the real world would come flooding back, and they would have to work things out and be adults, and possibly lose each other again, but if they just stayed there, maybe for a moment they could be happy and the world would just carry on around them and leave them together with embraces and whispered conversations.

Ally sighed as her phone rang for a 4th time, the ringtone told her it was work (again) and she knew she couldn't keep ignoring it. She removed her arms from around his neck and stepped backwards out of his embrace and picked up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Well, you've got hold of me now, what's so urgent?" Larry heard a pause as the person at the other end spoke.

"It was fine, the next hearing is Wednesday and I've still got the papers on me."

She glanced up and grimaced at Larry, causing him to struggle to hold back a laugh.

"Oh, Sarah, can you do me a favour? Can you check if I've got any meetings this afternoon?"

"Ok, I'm second chairing the Flockhart case so can you just tell Deb to handle that one on her own, and Simmons is just coming in to sign some papers, they're the last 3 in his file, could you be a darling and sort that out for me? I don't have to be there for those."

"Ok, thanks, then can you tell the boss I'm taking the afternoon off."

"Personal reasons."

"That is a good enough reason. Well if he has a problem get him to call me." She suddenly caught Larry's swift look, "Never mind, scrap that, don't get him to call me, tell him to take it out of my holidays, paid, unpaid whatever. I'm taking the afternoon off."

"I don't know, it'll depend how things go tonight if I'm in tomorrow" she said with a quick glance at Larry before studying her shoes.

"Thanks Sarah"

Ally hung up the phone with a sheepish look.

"Thank you" Larry stated simply.

She smiled at him and shrugged as she started walking back towards him, stopping just in front of him.

He reached out a hand and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, gently sliding his hand back to cup her cheek.

"You're beautiful" he whispered.

Allys whole face softened as his simple words washed over her and she longed to reach out to him, to hold him, to kiss him, to make love to him.

She stepped back suddenly, Larry staring at her in shock, scared he'd done something wrong, scared he'd ruined the magic they had right now.

She stepped back again and grabbed her purse, "We're going out." she said suddenly "we need to catch up properly, with actual speech, and if we stay here we're not going to manage it. We'll go out somewhere" she stated, "somewhere public" she muttered under her breath a moment later.

Larry just caught it and couldn't stop the playful grin from coming to his face, as he remembered some very pleasant memories, before he felt his cheeks burn red as Ally shot a look at him and her face clearly showed she knew what he'd been thinking.

"You're as bad as a school boy" she said, "now come on" she finished as he followed her out of the apartment.


	11. Chapter 11

_For the record not got a clue about American school system, and it made no sense when I tried to find out ages (so if anybody wants to PM with this those it would be greatly appreciated) just so I can work out if I've got Maddie about the age I want her to be._

* * *

They walked out of the apartment in silence and Ally led the way to a near coffee shop she liked and didn't start talking until they'd ordered and sat down.

They killed time with everyday talk, not quite brave enough to talk about the important things, for now Larry was simply accepting that Ally had suddenly gained a daughter and Ally was simply accepting the fact he was here.

As the conversation fell for a moment Ally looked up, stirring her coffee absentmindedly, "So, how did you find me anyway?"

"The internet is a wonderful thing" he stated simply, trying to keep the mood light.

"I'm serious Larry, we do need to talk, I mean I haven't seen or heard from you since you left Boston and suddenly you're here in New York and we're acting like nothings happened. Things have happened in between, and we've still got a lot of baggage without anything new. But there's still a lot of new to sort out."

"I know. You've gained a daughter. Care to explain? I leave and you don't have a child I come back 2 years later and you have an 11 year old daughter."

"13" Ally corrected.

"I'm sorry, an 13 year old daughter, I know I wasn't that good at science as a boy but I'm pretty sure, 13 year olds take longer than 2 years to grow."

"Like I said, a lots happened."

"Would you care to elaborate on any of it? For example, how come you moved to New York after you'd been made a named partner at Cage, Fish _& McBeal_?"

"How did you-"

"Photo, on the drawers in your lounge."

"I thought I was asking the questions." she replied playfully, "but since you ask so nicely, and because I know you're going to refuse to answer until I do I'll tell you."

And she did, she filled him on everything that had happened since he'd left. She left out Victor and any mention of dating, but she didn't hold anything else back.

She told him anything new with Renee she could think of, she told him about John and how that had led to her becoming partner, she told him anything new with Elaine and she told him about Maddie, how she had gained a daughter, and why she had moved to New York.

And he took it all in, he asked a few questions when he lost track and steered her back towards the main topic when she started rambling, but mainly he just listened and took it all in.

He stayed silent after she had finished speaking. She let him sit in silence for a while as he stared down into his empty coffee cup, absorbing what she had said.

After a while the silence got to her, "Please say something."

He stayed silent for another moment, "I think I need another coffee" he murmured before standing up and walking in the direction of the counter.

Ally cursed under her breath as he walked away praying that she hadn't lost her chance. She didn't know what any other options had been though, she had to tell Larry about Maddie, and nothing else had been big enough to shock him this much.

A few minutes later, Ally was still swearing under breath, and Larry was walking back to the table.

"I'd forgotten how much more complicated life got with you around."

Ally looked up, half of her had been expecting him to walk out of the shop and never look back. "You'll never get bored" she said halfheartedly, still thinking this had probably being too much, one complication too many and the tiny hope she had of staying with him was gone.

"No," he replied softly "I don't think I will."

She looked back up and saw him smiling at her and felt herself smiling in return. He leaned forward and took her hands in his across the table.

"I'm sticking around still. I'm not going to scarper because things became slightly more complicated."

"Slightly?"

"Shush, I'm trying to be romantic here" he said with a teasing smile.

"Ok, sorry, please continue"

"Nope that's it, moment's ruined" he said sitting back. "Did you want another drink?"

She shook her head both at the conversation and the offer.

They stayed in silence for a moment until Larry started talking again, not quite looking up at her as he did so.

"You remember when we first met? Well, when we first kissed, and I told you not to run from me and not to run from whatever you were feeling?" He paused for a moment and looked up into her eyes, "Well, now it's my turn to not run away just because I'm scared."

"Thank you," she whispered back quietly reaching over to take his hands again. They stayed that way for a few more minutes.

"So why didn't you tell Maddie my name? Have you told her about me?" Larry said, leaning back and casually cleaning his glasses on his t-shirt. Ally shook her head at the sudden change, he always managed that, changing the entire mood within a fraction of a second.

"What was there to tell? As far as I knew then you were just an ex. I didn't think you were going to reappear in my life and hers."

He simply looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

"Ok, I might have told her a little bit about you. Enough that I wasn't sure I wanted her to know who you were because she has an idea of how much you meant to me, and I didn't want her thinking anything that wasn't true, and I didn't know where we stood with each other."

"That makes sense. What are you planning to tell her now?"

"I don't know, I'll work it out tomorrow."

"Oh, so do you want me to leave for tonight?"

"No, she's away tonight. She's sleeping at a friends, I wanted to have time to work out what was happening without having to worry she might overhear us. I also wasn't planning to take an unplanned afternoon off work to spend with you this afternoon either."

"Oh, so we have all of tonight as well as right now?"

Ally nodded as she took a sip of her drink.

"Did you have any plans for us tonight then?" Larry asked, attempting to sound casual.

"We'll see how this afternoon goes shall we?" she replied lightly with a grin. "Anyway," she said, putting down her cup and returning to being serious, "like we said, we need to talk."

She continued to look at him for a moment but knew he wasn't just going to launch into the tale and she would need to ask him what she wanted to know.

"Why are you here?"

"I don't know" he stated simply.

"Okay" Ally replied slowly, "let's start easier then."

"How's Sam?"

She listened to him talk about Sam for a while, he sounded like the kid she remembered just a older, she couldn't believe Sam was already 10, nearly the same age as Maddie, they had something else in common now. But other than that, Sam was the little boy she remembered, she smiled as he produced photos from his wallet.

"How long are you here for?"

"Not long, a lot less time than I would like. If you hadn't been so hard to find then I would have had longer, but there again, you didn't exactly know someone was looking for you."

"Why were you trying to find me?"

"I don't know. Since I left I felt like something, some part of me, was missing, but I assumed it was Sam. But then I got closer to him and discovered that while that had been part of it, it wasn't the whole thing. Instead of getting better the ache was getting worse. I told myself it was just the change of scenery, I was in a different state, of course I was going to feel weird.

But apart from when I was with Sam it never felt like home. It just felt like a house. And my thoughts had been coming back to you more and more often until I could barely stop thinking about you. And I knew I didn't want to never see you again, and instead of sitting alone in a house, miserable and pining I decided to do something about it.

I think part of me wanted to check you were the part missing. That I wasn't just inventing a fantasy, how could anything real be as good as my idea of you. I wanted to know, I wanted to feel whole. The next day I started trying to trace you. Within a week I'd booked a ticket to Boston and was saying goodbye to Sam. I could only get two weeks off work and I spent nearly a week actually finding you, today is day 7 away and I need to be flying back early on day 14."

"We've only got a week?"

Larry nodded sadly, "I don't know what I expected to happen, I can't leave Detroit and you can't leave New York. I just felt like if I saw you we'd be able to work it out. But that's now even harder than I expected."

They lapsed into silence for a moment, "Did I fit?"

Larry looked at her confused, she continued, "You said you thought there was I piece of you missing and that I might be it. Was I it?"

Larry took her hands and looked into her worried eyes, "Without a doubt" he said simply before leaning over the table and kissing her gently.


	12. Chapter 12

_Can you tell I like to end on happy or confusing/shocking moments?_

_And thank you so much for the reviews, I really really appreciate them.  
_

* * *

He pulled back after a moment, it had only been a tender kiss but Ally could still feel her heart pounding in her chest and sat there speechless for a moment.

"So what are we going to do now?" Ally asked quietly, seriously.

"Well, I was thinking of finishing my drink, paying for it then trying to persuade you to go home and hopefully taking me with you."

"Oh? And what did you plan to do there?"

"Well I was thinking a cup of hot coco and then going to bed, I'm really tired today."

"Really? That was all?" she said unconvinced.

"Oh, I'm an old man now, I'm not sure I could stay up all night" he answered with a playful smile. "Not unless I had good reason to."

He winked at her.

Ally smiled slightly nervously back.

"Ally, I'm only joking about, you now I'll only go as far as you want right? Entirely up to you. We both know this isn't going to be easy and if you'd rather not cross that boundary again that's fine. I mean neither of us now how on earth we're going to deal with this. And if you think us being less ... intimate, will make separating again, even just for a short time, easier, then I will defer to your judgement. It's your call, how close we get while I'm here, and how hard you want to try when I'm gone again. I mean, I've just reappeared at your doorway and expect to come waltzing back into your life.

I want to do everything possible to make this work, but if you want me to go and never see you again then that's fine. Well, maybe not fine, but I'll stay away from you if thats what you want. It's your call." He paused for a second before continuing, "No pressure."

Ally marveled again at his ability to entirely alter the mood in the space of a second.

She looked thoughtful for a few moments.

"I've no idea where this is going to end up, and I don't know if I can cope with losing you again, and we do need to sort out some kind of plan. But for now, for tonight, can we just ignore the real world? Pretend that problems don't exist-"

"Live in your fantasy world you mean?"

She nodded, "Can we just go home and make the most of tonight?"

Larry nodded. He drained his drink and put some money down. He came around to her side of the table and gently took her hand and pulled her up, keeping hold of her hand as he walked outside with her.

"It's a bit cold" she said as they started the walk back, "you wanna just grab a cab?"

Larry stopped and pulled his coat off and draped it over her shoulders before taking her hand again. "No, you like the walk back, especially in the evening when you can see the stars, we'll walk."

Ally smiled and leaned her head on his shoulder as they walked, and neither let go of the others hand for the entire walk back.


	13. Chapter 13

"Well, here we are" Larry said as they arrived.

"Here we are" Ally replied, turning to face him.

Larry leaned in to kiss her gently, and kept the kiss tender until he pulled away and stood there waiting for her to go in.

She unlocked the door and stepped in, "You coming in?" she asked when she saw Larry still stood at the bottom of the stairs outside.

"Right, I keep forgetting I'm sleeping on your couch" he said with a shake of his head before heading in.

Ally laughed gently as they headed into the living room and shed their coats, well Ally took off both Larry's coat and her own.

"I was about to offer you a drink, but we've just been sat in a coffee shop drinking all afternoon."

"True, I'm not exactly thirsty right now."

She sat on the couch and he came to join her.

She lay her head on his shoulder, "I've missed this you know" she said "simply sitting with someone and feeling completely comfortable with them. Not feeling the need to make conversation, because you feel comfortable and you're already happy enough because the person's just there with you."

"I know what you mean" he replied, kissing her head and placing his arm around her shoulders.

They sat there peacefully in silence until they heard a phone ring.

"That's mine" Larry said and looked at his watch, "it's probably Sam, do you mind if I ..." he let it trail off, not wanting to upset Ally but not wanting to miss a chance to talk to his son.

"Go on, go chat to him" she said gently and took her weight off him.

"Hello?"

"Hey Sammy! How was school today?"

"That's brilliant."

Ally watched as Larry's face lit up as he continued talking to his son and couldn't help smiling.

"So what are you doing tomorrow?"

"Sounds like a plan."

"Yeah, my trips going fine."

"New York right now, I'm planning to stay here until I come back."

"Visiting friends that's all."

"Just an old friend, you have met them but you might not remember them."

"Ok, you go get your tea. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Love you."

He looked up at Ally as he hung up the phone.

"Guess you're not telling Sam either?" she asked lightly.

"No, I didn't want to tell him it was you until I knew what was going to happen. Besides, if it does get to a stage where I want him to know then I'm probably best telling him in person."

Ally nodded and patted the cushion next to her. Larry walked over to where she had patted and sat down, putting his arm back around her shoulders and pulling her close.

"So what do you want to do tonight?" he asked after a few minutes, "We could watch a film, or order some food, or go out somewhere for a meal, or go out dancing, or we could just stay sat here. What do you fancy?"

"You." Ally said simply and tilted her face to kiss him, within moments the kiss had intensified and she was laying on top of him on the couch.

As Larry tried to roll her over they nearly fell off the couch, she quickly stood up and grabbed him by the hand, grinning at him as she pulled him upstairs towards her bedroom.


	14. Chapter 14

_I promise Allys conversation with Renee is in character if you add voices and inflections, it just doesn't work so well or as IC without the voices._

_Also, sorry for the HUGE delay, and thanks for the prod to get me writing again, feel free to do that again if I lapse, I have a feeling the next few months are going to continue to be fairly hectic like the last few. But got inspired to carry on again seen as 1) I missed and 2) heard a RDJ song which hit me - he has a very nice voice for certain songs).  
Still writing chapter 16 and not sure whether to post the next one or not, but will still be updating soon.  
Promise._

* * *

Ally awoke the next morning feeling glorious. She felt loved.

She woke up laying in his arms, and felt no desire to move.

She turned to face him and rested her head against his chest as he lay on his back, his arms still holding her close even in his sleep.

After a moment she lifted her head slightly and looked at his face, so peaceful as he rested, not struggling with decisions they both knew they had to make.

The night before all that had been forgotten and they had just celebrated simply having each other back.

She glanced at the clock and knew she didn't have time to merely fall back asleep in his arms like she wanted, the real world had returned and she had things to do. She had to call Maddie. She ought to take the papers into work that she still had with her even if it was Saturday.

She also needed to call Renee.

She carried on watching him, examining every inch of his face and implanting it in her memory for a few more minutes before sighing slightly and regretably moving out of the comfort and warmth of his arms and grabbing some clothes from her drawers. She silently pulled on a large old t-shirt before padding noiselessly out of the room, quietly shutting the door behind her.

She made her way downstairs still trying to keep the noise level down and padded into the kitchen to switch the kettle on.

She grabbed the phone and sat down in the kitchen and called Maddie.

"Hey Maddie" she whispered down the phone.

"Hi Ally, why are you whispering?"

"Sore throat," Ally responded quickly, she didn't need to tell Maddie that she was trying not to wake up the strange man that Maddie had only half met. "So what are you plans for the day? When do you want picking up?"

"Well, me and Hannah were hoping to go see a film. Do you mind?"

"No, that's fine. What time do you want picking up? Does Hannah want a lift back?"

"Probably about 3."

"Ok, not a problem, just keep me updated to let me know you're ok, I'm assuming Hannahs mum is dropping you off at the film?"

"Yeah, she is, don't worry Ally I'll be fine, I'll talk to you later."

"Ok, talk later, love you"

Ally heard a hurried 'love you too' returned down the phone before Maddie hung up.

Part of her felt guilty for her being away, but the reason she'd moved to New York was for Maddie to be able to hang out with her friends again and she was growing up and she knew enough to be careful and safe, and from the sounds of Maddie's quick hanging up she was fine and wanting to be able to act cool in front of her friends again.

Ally was started from her reverie by the kettle boiling, she pulled it off the hob and made herself a coffee, she contemplated taking the papers into work but just couldn't face it. She'd gained an extra morning alone with Larry, and she knew she ought to take this time to sort out the situation, probably now complicated even more by the night before. But it was worth any extra complications to be that close to him again, physically and emotionally. The final gap they'd had had been closed and they were as close as they ever had been.

She smiled as memories rose to the surface and punched Renee's number into the phone.

"Hello?" came a croaky voice from the end of the phone.

"Hey Renee"

"Ally? You know not to call before 10 on the weekends."

"It's worth waking up for."

"Really?" she replied, her voice still croaky and sleepy.

"Larry and I slept together last night" she could hear Renee sit up quickly in bed.

"Ally, just to be clear, was it bonus night kind of sleeping together, meaningless sex kind of sleeping together, shared a bed kind of sleeping together, or made love kind of sleeping together?"

"The last one" Ally said slowly and had to move the phone away from her ear as Renee screamed into it.

"You serious?"

"Mhmm"

"Was it good?"

"Renee" she admonished with a sigh "that's the first thing you think of to ask."

"So it was" she stated rather than asked

"Renee, it was like heaven" Ally sighed into the receiver and heard Renees sly laugh at the other end.

"Well, good for you, so tell me what's happened so far?"

Ally didn't pause for a second before she launched into the whole tale of what had happened since Larry had appeared at the door and Renee had last spoken to her. Renee listened in silence to the whole story, sighing on occasion whenever she repeated something sweet he had said.

After she reached the end Renee asked the million dollar question.

"So what are you going to now?"

"I don't know, Maddie's still away this morning, I'm hoping to sort it out now."

"Ally, you've only been with him for a day and a night, are you sure now is the best time to be sorting anything out? What if part of this is just excitement at seeing a guy you know again after so many bad dates. Maybe wait until the week is nearly out and then work it out, rather than rushing into plans while your head's still in a spin."

"Mmm" Ally replied as she continued to sip her coffee, "that makes sense, I just don't want to leave it too late and make it seem like I'm not interested in trying to find a way to work it out."

"Ally, he knows you, from the sound of it he can still read you like a book, besides, a few more nights like last night and he'll definitely know that you're still interested."

Ally snorted down the phone as Renee laughed slightly.

"I ought to go" Ally said, "I've got a hundred little jobs to do and I don't want to waste one of my few days with him cleaning."

"Ok, I'm gonna go back to sleep. Keep me posted."

"Will do" Ally replied before putting the phone back.

Even though they lived in different states and Ally had friends in New York she still valued Renee's opinion highly, she seemed to know what she was thinking better than the friends that she saw every day. She knew all her idiosyncrasies and habits and Renee wasn't afraid to be blunt.

Ally finished her coffee and tried to work up the energy to actual do something other than walk back upstairs and slip back into bed.

Eventually she failed and padded back up the stairs and opened the door to see him still laying there and smiling at her.


	15. Chapter 15

_did mean to update earlier I swear_

_but was away for a few days so no chance  
will update again soon  
next chapter written (did decide to not post my original chapter 15)_

_not so wild on this chapter either go majorly OOC for parts but should recover it next chapter  
_

_to Emlen: can reply in chapters but if you sign in and then review then I can reply to your questions easier and reply to your reviews which would quite like to do fairly often  
thanks  
_

* * *

They carried on grinning like fools as Ally made her way back towards him, she placed the mugs on the table and slipped into the bed next to him.

She leaned her head on his chest as she snuggled closer.

"You ok?" she asked after a moment, concern in her voice. "Your heart's racing."

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just panicked for a moment back there" he replied before instantly regretting it and realising he'd said more than he meant to.

Ally sat up and just stared at him for a few seconds, not sure what to make of his statement or how much to read into it.

"Panicked?" she asked after a moment.

"I didn't know if you were coming back or had run away" he said quietly and quickly as though ashamed of the words.

"Run away?"

"If you regretted last night?" he started trying to say it matter-of-factly but couldn't stop the slight questioning tone that came out.

She looked at him for a second before leaning down and giving him a slow leisurely kiss.

"Does that answer your question?" she asked as she pulled back. Larry just grinned and pulled her down for another kiss.

As she pulled away she returned to her previous position of laying close to him and his arm wrapped around her shoulders as she lay there.

She softly began laughing to herself and looked up to see his curious look.

"Renee wasn't right about everything. She reckoned you could still read me entirely."

"Who says I can't?"

She lifted her head up to look at him. "When I was thinking earlier you weren't here to read."

"I'm here now" she replied softly.

He reached up and placed a hand at the side of her face, "And I plan to take full advantage of that fact" before he raised himself onto one elbow and drew her into another kiss.


	16. Chapter 16

_just realised I uploaded this days ago and never posted it - next one will be up quicker, I'll remember to actually post it next time_

_

* * *

_

"We should probably get out of this bed sometime today" Larry murmured, without much enthusiasm.

"Why?" Ally whined.

"Because I personally could do with some food at some point if your plans for the future are anything like last night and this morning, and I'm guessing that Maddie will be returning at some point, and considering she doesn't know who I am and that you're her mother it might freak her out a bit if she came home and found us naked together in your bed."

"It's ok I called her this morning, she's going to the movies, we have until this afternoon."

She felt him nod, "same time you called Renee? Is there anyone else I should be aware of whose getting told everything? 'Cos if you're telling strangers in the street I could do with a bit of warning so I don't get too confused when they start asking me things."

She laughed slightly, "Only Renee knows you're here."

"And I'm assuming she knows what we did" it was more of a statement than a question. "Did she approve?"

"Her first question was 'was it good?' So I reckon she's on side."

"Good. She can keep reminding you how much you like me if things get tricky." He paused for a second before continuing. "What did you say?"

"What?"

"When she asked if it was good?"

Ally just shrugged and stayed silent.

"What did you say?" he asked playfully and she shrugged again trying to hide her grin.

"What did you say?" he asked repeatedly as he started tickling her and she started squirming and giggling.

He continued tickling her until he was on top and had her hands pinned with his own.

She looked at him as she tried to get her breath back, "I can't tell you, your ego's already big enough as it is."

"Really that good?"

Ally simply smiled back at him and they held each others gaze for a fraction longer than necessary. Eventually he cleared his throat, "I have a feeling that unless I get out of bed now we won't be leaving it again for the rest of the day." He stayed there for a second longer before sighing and lifting himself off her and wandering into the bathroom.

He came back out to find his bag left in front of the bathroom door, he smiled to himself as he dressed before heading downstairs.


	17. Chapter 17

As he reached the bottom of the stairs he saw a mug on the sideboard near the stairs as he caught the smell of coffee wafting up to him, he noted the colour and knew it was Ally's so took a sip and started smiling again, looked like Ally hadn't forgotten that much about him judging by the perfect cup of coffee in his hands. He forced himself not to look at her as he carried on walking into the room and saw a plate on the table holding 2 slices of toast with marmalade on, again just as he liked it, he started wondering why she kept marmalade in the house seen as he hadn't seen Maddie eat it (on any of her many slices of toast) and he knew Ally didn't like it, until the smell distracted him from his train of thought and he realised he was ravenous and tucked quickly into the food.

He didn't see Ally through all this and when his stomach had been satisfied followed the sound of her voice into the kitchen.

"Look, Sarah, I told you I might be taking the day off and I plan to do that, now do I really need to bring the paperwork in this morning?"

Larry look on confused as Ally replied down the phone again, "I don't care what Mark says, the case in non-urgent it's not up for weeks, the most time I'll be off is a week. I've go an old friend in town and I'd like to show them New York, it's a week tops, the files can wait until then."

Ally stamped her foot on the floor as she tried not to lose her temper still not noticing Larry was there, he stayed silent as she began speaking again.

"Well, tell Mark ... Hey Mark, I was just explaining to Sarah that I'm going to be away for a week and that I'll bring the files back in after that. You don't _need_ the files back, and it's not like they're even a high-end client."

"Well, I don't particularly care if the office is on the way to the sights, I'm off work, not working, not entering the office."

"Fine, I'll bring them in this morning." she said resigned before hanging up the phone and sighing loudly.

Larry stepped up behind her quietly and encircled her waist in his arms, laying his head on her shoulder, "I take it we're going to work this morning."

She sighed again quietly, and turned her head to face him, "Yeah, sorry about this, how long were you listening?"

"Long enough to know that you fought for the day off and that Sarah isn't half as nosy or nice as Elaine, and that one of your colleagues is called Mark."

Ally laughed softly, "Very close, except Mark's my boss."

"You shout at your boss like that often?"

She shrugged slightly, "I never really got back into the whole idea of you can't shout at your bosses. But you should be proud of me, I haven't tried to fix his love life yet."

Larry laughed and felt a grin spread over his face, it felt good to know that Ally was still Ally, just in a different situation in a different city.

"Guess I'd better go get changed then"

Ally turned around and looked at him, not breaking out of his arms though, "Why? What you're wearing is fine." she replied as she eyed his jeans and t-shirt up and down.

"Yeah, but it's not suitable for an office."

"Wh-"

"You didn't think I was not going to come and have a peak at your new work did you?

"Fine," Ally replied after a moment, "But no sticking your nose in other peoples business, that includes spying on or commenting on peoples cases. Agreed?"

"Fine" he replied after a moment, attempting to look hurt and annoyed.

Ally followed him upstairs to change as well, shaking her head, she'd seen the twinkle in his eye and knew he wouldn't be able to resist getting drawn into some kind of debate about a case with someone, the trip wasn't going to be as quick as she hoped but it would definitely be more fun that she'd been expecting.


End file.
